Mathiu Dax
Mathiu Dax (11 February 1928 - 6 August 1961) was an Andorran-French racing driver, spending 6 seasons in the Formula One World Championship. He was Andorra's first, and to this day only, representative in Formula One. Personal life Mathiu was born in Andorra la Vella to a French mother, Anais (1904-2002) and a French Occitan father, Peire (1903-1997). His parents moved to Andorra in 1921, after getting married. Mathiu had German ancestry through his father. He had an older brother, Marco (b. 1922), who served as his agent and spokesperson during his racing career. Marco's eldest son, Lucien (1949-2000), also started a career in junior racing, but was forbidden from continuing it by his father after Mathiu's death in 1961. Racing career Mathiu had been racing around Europe for over 10 years before reaching Formula One, starting his racing career in 1945. In the following years, he raced against multiple future Formula One racers, including Christophe Bourdon, Jean-Luc Rosseau and François Jolicoeur. In 1956 he was signed by Bugatti and started his Formula One career with a team which hadn't had much luck in the previous years. Formula One Career 1956, his debut year, started off successfully with a podium, but it didn't continue the same, with him having bad luck with retirements in the remainder of the season. He beat Bruno Nunes that season, but placed 2nd best of his team and was beaten by Jason Gutierres. He resigned with Bugatti for 1957 together with Gutierres, and they were joined by Arnaldo Marino. Dax finished every race this season, however he didn't have the best of seasons when it comes to race results, only finishing on the podium once. He ended up beating Gutierres, but again placed 2nd best of his teammates as Marino managed to finish 2nd three times. All three members of the team resigned for 1958, but this was another unlucky season for Dax resembling 1956, with him retiring in the first 4 races of the season. He only managed to finish on the podium once this season, and again placed 2nd best of this teammates, as Gutierres beat him and he beat Marino. His only podium finish was a 2nd place and was his first career fastest lap. 1959 was most likely Dax's best season overall, with him staying at Bugatti for another year together with Marino, and they were joined by Paolo Albini as their car was one of the best this season. Mathiu got his first career win this season, as well as two further podiums and another career fastest lap, but he lost the title on the final race to Albini, his teammate. He hoped to continue in similar fashion in the following years, but in the end, it would never happen. In 1960, Bugatti was again back to its old speed as a mid-table team, with all three drivers remaining. Dax got two more podiums this season, one of which was his second career win, finishing with 20 points, tying with Marino and beating Albini. However, he was still involved in the title contention with two races to go, but two retirements ended his hopes and resulted in him only finishing in 6th. His final career season, 1961, was similar. All three drivers resigned with Bugatti, with Mathiu having the best start 5 races into the season, getting another podium and then his third and final career win and his final podium in the 4th race of the season. He was involved in the title race against Carlsberg's Lauto and Andrew Smith, as well as Mancini's Wilkinson, but his tragic death in Germany ended everything. Death In the final laps of the 1961 German GP at Nürburgring, Mathiu Dax lost control of his car and hit a wall at a very high speed. He was transported to a hospital, but there was no hope and he was dead within hours of arrival to the hospital. His brother tried to launch a complaint and possibly sue somebody about 'slow reactions' and a 'bad car' leading to Mathiu's death, but seeing how Mathiu was nearly dead after his collision, it resulted in nothing.